A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste
by gryphalkon
Summary: When the Doctor loses Rose on the TARDIS to a mysterious enemy, he must go to great lengths to get her back, but will he manage to save her in the end? Slight 10Rose, set after season 2 with the ending slightly modified.
1. Chapter 1: An Interrupted Breakfast

A/N- I DO NOT OWN DOCTOR WHO…I really wish I did, and actually DID own it…well… lets just say things after Season 2 would be slightly different, not that I have anything against Martha…but she would merely be one of those one time companions and Rose would have had bounced off of that wall. This fic is my first and hopefully decent attempt at fanfiction, I have written my very own reunion fanfic that is supposed to serve as a preface to this piece which I will hopefully upload in the next day or so. I have this entire fic planned out and the next two chapters pretty much written so I should update every two days or so. All that is left to say is…Enjoy!

Chapter One – A Interrupted Breakfast

"Rrring….rrring…rrring." shrilled the alarm clock from Rose's beside table. Rose, never an early riser, turner over and hit it, rather harder than was necessary. Snuggling back under the covers Rose smiled. Her and the Doctor had worked out a patterns to mornings on the TARDIS, while he rose from what little sleep he needed to make tea, she would lie abed until her growling stomach drove her to rise. All in all it worked supremely well, protecting each other from the inevitable morning grouchiness.

For a person who refused to associate with domestics the Doctor made a surprisingly good cup of tea. Usually Rose settled with toast and marmalade, she was not a cook. This morning Rose through she could catch a faint whiff of bacon floating down the hallway. When she wanted the TARDIS could be quite cruel.

Groaning, Rose rolled out of her warm to bed, landing with a thump on the floor. Standing up she rummaged around on her floor for her slippers. Bare feet on the cold floor of the TARDIS's hallways was not a pleasant way to start the morning.

Fortified by the smell of bacon and the fluffy slippers on her feet, Rose dared to venture forth into the unknown…

"Oh for Rassilon's sake," followed a loud clang and crash that echoed down the hallway from the kitchen. Smiling, Rose walked down the hall and opened the door into the kitchen. Where her eyes alighted on the ridiculous figure of the Doctor in an apron jumping up and down sucking on his hand, around him lay the remnants of what was supposed to be breakfast; a pan and several strips of sizzling bacon lay scattered on the floor around his feet.

"Forget the hot pad, did ya?" Rose said as her smile grew wider.

"No, I merely thought that the cellular structure of my hand would prove more resistant to the thermal energy of the pan and that…" The Doctor trailed off, looking sheepish, standing there in his apron that said, 'Hug me, I am the cook.'

"In other words, you forgot that you were not a god?" Rose teased, as she walked closer to the Doctor, carefully stepping over the dropped pan and the spilled bacon. She took his unburned hand in hers.

"My mind was on other matte-," The Doctor was cut off with an oomph. Looking rather surprised as Rose leaned over and kissed him.

"That was for being considerate enough to make me bacon. What's the big occasion?" Rose asked as she let go of the Doctor's hand and walked over to the table set for two.

The grin on the Doctor's face faded a little. "No reason," he shifted uncomfortably, "Well, it is the one year anniversary of me getting you back."

"And that, indeed, does deserve bacon. Only this time I'll make it." Rose jumped up from her chair and picked up the dropped pan, to find, to her chagrin that it was still very hot. With a squeak she dropped it on the Doctor's foot. Grimacing they both hopped and danced whilst the pain in their hands and foot subsided to dull throbbing. Laughing the Doctor took her into his arms. Resting his head on top her blonde hair he mutter into it, "Why don't we just settle for tea then."

The Doctor suddenly felt Rose's shoulder's start to shake. Concerned he pulled back from their embrace to see tears streaming down her face. "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned for her.

Through the tears he could see that she was smiling. She nodded, breaking into laughter at the sight of his concerned face. Foolishly he realized that she had been laughing at their predicament.

Wiping the tears from her eyes she said through gales of laughter, "We both are rubbish at cooking. Let's go get some chips."

"Rose Tyler, I love you. When life looks down, you pull out the universal solution, chips." He grinned that heart breaking grin at her and she smiled in return.

"I love you to Doctor." Leaning forward she planted a somewhat gentler kiss than before on his lips.

Suddenly the TARDIS shuddered and the Doctor and Rose where flung against the wall. With a whirring noise the lights went out and the TARDIS was plunged into darkness.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

From inside his cramped stinky ship, three eyes glowed and the owner grinned for all he was worth.

A/N – I almost forgot, please if you have a moment or two just jot down a few words, reviews make me write faster, it really is a proven fact (pulls out long mathematical proof) I could show it to you but it takes a long time to explain . I also have a huge pile of Doctor Chiblis I have to get rid of sooo…reviews get chiblis. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2: Lost in the Dark

A/N – I don't own Doctor Who. Thank you for sticking with me to the next chapter. Hopefully things from here on out don't get to confusing. Basically Rose was bounced off the wall in the last episode of season two (well a little bit more complicated than that but…) and both have finally got over their stage of trying to hide their feelings for each other and actually say "I love you". The next 4ish chapters are written so…I will be uploading manically. Enjoy!

Chapter Two: Lost in the Dark

The Doctor blinked at his sudden blindness as he steadied himself and Rose against the counter. As a Time Lord he had excellent night vision, but the black inside the TARDIS was so complete that even he could not see Rose's face, inches from his own. "Rose, you okay? No further injury from the lack of light and the rough ride?" He tried to sound cheerful but it ended up sounding rather forced.

"Yeah, I'm alright, just can't see a thing. How 'bout you, your super Time Lord senses picking up somethin'?"

"Nahh, nothing, I am blinder that a vorthog from Auria, and those things can't see their own…Never mind, the TARDIS shouldn't be doing this. I have to get to the control room and see if I can fix it." He reached for his sonic screw driver, feeling around in the pockets of his habitual suit. He realized, in the excitement of the day, he had forgotten it back in the control room.

Rose's grip around him was getting rather uncomfortably tight; she obviously had no idea in her nerves how tight she was holding him. Another time he might have marveled how strong she had gotten in the three years that he had known her, but now he had other things on his mind. "Miss Tyler, I need you to let go of me for a moment, I love you too, but I currently cannot serve the role of teddy bear and fix the TARDIS."

"Oh, right," she said rather guiltily as she let go of him quickly, "Sorry 'bout that, it just sorta startled me."

"I am going to start toward the control room, I should be able to sort out was has gone wrong from there. Hopefully is nothing more than a power loop in the main control panel, easily fixed," The Doctor announced, none to sure of his prognosis, "Stay here until I get the lights back on, the TARDIS is a big ship and I don't want you to get hurt blundering around in the dark."

"Of course, I have been livin' here for a couple of years now, and even then I haven't seen the entirety of her. I'll stay here with the bacon and wait for the lights to come on," She grinned invisibly, "Make it quick, we have chips, to get and knowin' the TARDIS we will probably have to try a few times till we actually get them."

The Doctor turned to go, feeling his way awkwardly across the kitchen, trying to avoid the still hot pan. Walking halfway down the hallway he stopped, he heard a sound coming from behind him, the sound of a kitchen door opening. Turning back he sighed, "Rose, I thought I told you to stay in the kitchen. I know you want to help but it will be quicker for me to get there alone."

Silence met his ears, "Rose, is that you?"

A gentle touch started scratching at the edges of his mind and knew that what ever was in the hallway with him wasn't Rose, she didn't have telepathy. Slowly backing away he bumped into the wall; he edged along it until he was at the end of the hall. What ever it was, it was between him and Rose and that did not make him happy. The scratching stopped. Waiting, he held his breath, trying to decide how to get back to Rose without alerting the thing to his plan.

A blow to his mental defenses made him gasp, only in his schooling days on Gallifrey had he felt this vulnerable. Then he had been stuck in a feedback loop with a crowd, reinforcing their emotion until they almost rioted. Disorientated the Doctor looked up to find the lights back on and all presence in the hallway gone.

Running back to the kitchen he flung open the door. "Rose?" He called out, expecting to hear her happy response admonishing him for the lights. Instead he was faced with an empty kitchen, bacon still littering the floor.

A/N- I still have chiblis and they are starting to overrun my house…i.e. please review if you have the time, thank you.


	3. Chapter 3: Tracking Down Rose

A/N – The next chapter is longer…that is all I going to say. I don't own Doctor who

Chapter Three: Tracking Down Rose

The Doctor was desperate, he had searched every room in the vicinity of the kitchen that he knew of twice over and Rose was still missing. At this point the Doctor was almost certain the presence in the hallway had taken her when it vanished. Somehow it had breached the TARDIS's defenses and whisked Rose out from underneath his nose. Growling deep in his throat he dashed to the control room. What ever took Rose from him was going to pay.

The control room was exactly as he had left it that morning before going to make bacon. The tools he had been using to fiddle with the TARDIS were lying all over the floor from their bumpy ride, but nothing else had changed. Bending down, he scooped up the sonic screw driver, it felt good to have its weight back in his hand.

"Time to find where Rose has gone," he muttered to himself. After their adventure at Torchwood he had given her a ring that broadcast a signal throughout time and space that he could pick up with the TARDIS. He never wanted to loose her again, too many times she had been ripped from his side and she had given up so much to get back. He owned her that much.

Bending over the display he fiddled with it until it showed the broadcast from Rose's ring. "That can't be," The Doctor said to the room at large, "That is impossible, the TARDIS is in the time vortex, at least it was last time I looked," he thought for a moment, "Ah, that was what that shock was, we got knocked out of the vortex, but where did we end up?"

The Doctor glanced at the display, changing the view until he brought up his relative position in the galaxy, "A galactic backwater, but why bring us here? Why steal Rose from the TARDIS and drop her here, she won't survive for more than a few hours in that toxic jungle. Unless…no…that is too _cliché_, a trap, of course. But what do they want? Only one way to find out, I have to go spring it don't I."

Gathering up his overcoat the Doctor opened the TARDIS's door and immediately started sneezing. The foliage ran riot, every color under the sun and a few besides assaulted his watering eyes. Pulling out a handkerchief out of one of his voluminous pockets he covered his mouth and nose. Prepared to face the jungle he took a deep breath and strode out of the TARDIS, ready to track Rose all across space and time.

A/N – Reviews are nice. Thank you very much


	4. Chapter 4: A Trek Through the Jungle

A/N – I Don't own Doctor who

Chapter Three: A Trek Through the Jungle

"Bloody jungles," muttered the Doctor. He had been wandering around in circles for the last hour and was still no closer to finding Rose. The Doctor was starting to feel an impending sense of urgency, Rose would not be able to survive in this jungle more than another three or four hours. Even he was starting to feel the effects of the toxins in his lungs.

Coughing the Doctor headed the nearest batch of foliage which looked like it might give way. A voice rang out behind him, "Hey you, whatcha doin'?"

Startled the Doctor whirled around to find he was facing a young boy holding a rather menacing machete. The boy was wearing a variety of greens which made him almost impossible to see if you didn't know he was there, he was also wearing a gas mask across his face so only his eyes were visible. Across his back was slung a huge pack, it looked as if you gave him a solid push he would fall over.

"Looking for someone, a friend, I lost her," the Doctor replied uneasily, he didn't think that someone so young could have whisked Rose out from the TARDIS but one never could never be completely sure. "Have you seen a blonde girl, about two feet taller than yourself wandering around here? She would have been confused and disorientated."

"Nah, no blonde girls wanderin' 'round here. Just us in the bunker you passed 'bout a mile back. We saw you wander by and thought that we might be of service, we rarely get visitors to our planet, it being a tropical paradise an' all," He grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling up, indicating a smile behind the concealing gas mask. The Doctor had the sudden impression of a third glowing eye on the boys forehead. A pain lanced through from behind his eyes causing all the colors around him to blur into indistinct shapes. Shaking his head he looked at the boy again relieved to see a humanoid boy with somewhat confused eyes staring at him.

"You okay?" the boy said, looking concerned at the Doctor's glazed expression.

"Yeah, just the toxins getting to me. Listen I have to find my friend, she has been stuck out here for a few hours now and I don't know how long she can last in this," he waved a general hand at the greenery around them, "Can you help me find her and then we can go back to this bunker of yours." He coughed out, his desperation for Rose overcoming any trepidation he had about this boy.

"Sure, always happy to help. Hold on, I think I have another mask in here, it will 'elp with the toxins," He pulled the pack he was carrying off his back and began to rummage around in side. "Ah-ha, got it." He exclaimed, pulling a rather battered mask from the recesses of his pack.

Turning he handed it to the Doctor. Gratefully he took it. After a moment fiddling with the straps the Doctor took a deep breath. "Much better, now lets go find Rose." He took two steps forward before a wave of pain lancing across his head caused him to drop to his knees. Cradling his head he heard from somewhere far away the boy crying his name, "Doctor! Doctor! Hold on, I'll go get help."

Through the fog of pain he realized, he had never told the boy his name, only Rose's. Then how did he know it? Another wave of pain pushed all thoughts out of his head, the only sense he had left was that of endless waves of agony washing over him.

The world blurred and he thought he could see the hallway of the TARDIS behind the running greens of the jungle. With a snap, the world righted itself and the pain was gone. Before him stood the jungle, whole in its horrible glory, he rose somewhat unsteadily to his feet calling out after the boy, "Wait, I am alright."

Turning at the sound of the Doctor's voice the boy stopped his headlong dash toward the edge of the clearing. "Ya sure? I can go get help, you could go back to the bunker and we can look for Rose for ya."

"No, that is alright, my priority right now is to find her. I can hold on until then, I must have ingested more of the toxins than I thought and it is taking my body a longer time to process them," he said, hoping that was it. He could deal with toxins, but if this was part of the trap…well he would think of that when he came to it.

"Okay if you are sure," the boy said hesitantly, "then which way is this girl of yours?"

Pulling out his sonic screw driver he held it up searching for the signal, "By magnetic measurements of this planet she is two degrees off north," registering the boys confused face he sighed, "She is that way." He pointed off to their right.

"Okay follow me, there is a path that goes in that general direction, heading to the old city. We can take that," The boy bounded off.

"Wait," the Doctor called after him, coughing softly through the mask, following him somewhat more sedately, "I never asked your name."

The boy turned back and grinned, "I am called Vash."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Half an hour later the Doctor and Vash came stumbling out onto a broken road. Both were breathing heavily from their trek through the jungle. "She should be around here," The Doctor panted through the mask, "within three hundred feet or so."

He straightened from his bent over position to see a broken city lying before him. Towers that once would have stretched thousands of feet in the air lied broken and shattered in the streets. Within that three hundred foot radius several smaller ruined buildings stood. "We should split up, cover more ground that way," the Doctor said, striding towards the nearest broken building, "Yell if you find her, by now she is probably unconscious."

Holding up the sonic screwdriver he attempted to pinpoint her location more exactly, but something in the atmosphere was throwing it off, he would have to search for her the old fashion way. Jogging forward he entered the ruined building; wires and pipes hung from the ceiling and the wall were soggy with water and moss.

Heading towards the back of the building the worst the condition became. By the time he reached the stairs he wasn't sure that they could hold his weight. "Well if she is up there I have to look," he told himself, eyeing the stairs dubiously.

Placing one careful foot on the stairs he winced as the entire stair case rattled and groaned. The Doctor decided that it was probably best if he did this all at once and he dashed up the stair case as it shook underfoot. Surprisingly it held his weight to the top. Turning he saw that the second floor was in no better condition than the first. Whatever had caused the people to abandon this city it had been long ago, probably something to do with the toxins in the air. Humanoids were always ruining the world around them.

The Doctor was almost ready to dare the stairs again in decent when a glint caught the corner of his eye. In the moss built up in the corner something metal was resting. Metal didn't last long in type of atmosphere, so what ever it was had to be recently put there. Walking over the corner of the room the Doctor felt his hearts quail. Taking off his mask he knelt confirming what he already knew. It was Rose's ring, resting innocently on the pad of moss, and Rose herself was not insight.

A/N – Reviews beget chiblis for the Reviewers. Thanks


	5. Chapter 5: A Memory Revisted

A/N – I don't own Doctor Who. Sorry for the delay, Enjoy!

Chapter Five: A Memory Revisited

Rose opened her eyes. Blurry shapes met confused eyes, blinking the colors solidified into shapes. A blank white ceiling stared bath at her, the colors at the corners of her vision resolved into the tops of curtains. A faint snore resonated from her right. Rose turned to face it and she was startled to see the sight of Jimmy Stone's dirty blonde hair.

The last thing Rose could remember was standing in the TARDIS's kitchen, talking with the Doctor. The lights had gone out and the TARDIS had rocked, throwing her and the Doctor against the counter. He had then departed to fix the lights. She had sat in the dark for a few seconds until she heard the kitchen door open with a soft creak.

She had turned in the general direction of the door and had desperately tried to pierce the shroud of darkness, but to no avail. Footsteps approached and she had called out, "Doctor, is that you?" Silence had met her question. "This isn't funny," she said to the room at large.

The footsteps approached her position and she realized she would have to slap that doctor hard for playing this oh-so-not funny joke on her. They stopped in front of her and she backed away, feeling behind her for the counter. Pain exploded behind her eyes and her world dissolved into stars.

The next thing she knew she was lying here, next to Jimmy. She felt the back of her head, searching for the bump that she knew had to be there. To her surprise the back of her head was completely fine. Pulling back the sheets she looked down at her clothing, her horror grew as she saw that she was wearing one of Jimmy's favorite shirts and a pair of boxer shorts. No help there.

The sudden draft wafted down into the warm cave of their bed, causing Jimmy to stir, groaning. He sat up, wiping dried drool from his face with the back of his hand. His blood shot eyes found Rose, "Hey babe, go make me some tea, wontcha?" Not pausing for her reply he fell back onto his pillow, eyes closed before he hit the bed.

Rose froze, trapped by her own fear. After she had met Mickey she had sworn that to never think of Jimmy Stone again. He was a closed chapter of her life, finished and thrown in the rubbish bin long ago. She had left school for Jimmy and after a few months with him all she saw in her future were hordes of blond haired children clinging to her, a dirty flat, and a dead end job. Now she was back in that dirty flat with the dripping faucet, stuck in her worst nightmare.

She desperately wanted to return to the TARDIS, somehow for this just to be a horrible dream and that the Doctor would be there for her holding out his arms in comfort. Unfortunately that creature in the dark had taken her and was forcing her to relive her some of her worst times. Turning to Jimmy's lifeless snoring body she responded, "Make your own cup of tea you lazy piece of rubbish." Fortified by her uncharacteristic bravery in the face of the man that made her a simpering air-headed child she climbed out of their rumpled bed.

She turned and stalked out of the bedroom, grabbing her coat off the rack on the way down the hall. She headed towards the door, she didn't know where she would head in her boxers but she hoped her mum would take her back in. After she had announced that she had dropped out of school, she and Jackie had a huge row, culminating in her moving in with Jimmy. She had reconciled with her mum a few weeks later. Hopefully, that held true in this twisty reality as well. Decided on her destination she reached out for the door and went to yank it open.

Her hand came down on the handle and to her dismay it refused to budge. Looking out the window all she saw was darkness.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A/N – Thanks for reading. If the fancy tickles you press the purplish button…or is it grey. I can't tell. Chiblis for all.


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